jeich182

^ note that it is normal operation *at this time*. They know about it, are supposedly working on it, but right now that's "normal" for these cars.

tmitch2315

V-6 tech same issue 1-2 hard shift improves somewhat when warm. 07S had much smoother trans.

jeich182

Agree 1-2 improves but 2-3 does not.

mapleloaf

Not to minimize the issue as my 3.5 also "sticks" a bit on the first two shifts. However, i notice it less when accelerating a little quicker. It would be nice to have a fix but really it's not a big deal. I believe that things get worse when people fixate more on the issue. I have done the same thing on other cars and have sometimes lost a little perspective on the issue. Perhaps Acura will address the issue when addressing the parking gear issue.

acford

Well said. I was thinking the same thing. It really isn't bad and I don't think it's abnormal. I've had my TLX for almost 2 months now I can tell a lot of hard work went into the design of this car. Very smooth and quiet. One of the best Honda/Acura vehicles I've owned. And I've owned a bunch including the 2nd and 3rd gen TL, 2 Honda Accords, Odyssey and 2nd gen MDX.

taewhang

Just bought a v6 tech and am having the same issues. Hard shifting 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd, up and downshifting. Doesn't seem to matter if it is warmed up. Brought it to the dealer who suggested I test drive another v6 tech to see if it had the same issues. It did. Very disappointed with acura quality and hope they address this issue soon.

weather

^^ Did you have a chance to test drive the vehicle prior to purchasing? I am surprised that you can spot the hard shift so easily on both cars but wouldn't have noticed it when test driving the car.

tmitch2315

Just wondering how come we have the same transmission that is in the $ 21,500 Chrysler 200.

"The Chrysler 200 is the only car in its class to offer a nine-speed automatic transmission+. The nine-speed automatic includes a Rotary E-shift. It features a wide gear ratio spread that provides smooth transfer between gears and high efficiency in all gears and speeds."

Ours does not even have a "smooth transfer between gears" ?????????

Stew4HD

^ Good thing you don't repeat posts.

I am wondering how it can be that the TLX has glass windows and 4 wheels like the Toyota Corolla????

tmitch2315

Great analogy??????? Might think about that a little more.

"When Derek drove the Cherokee at a launch event he complained about the transmission. When I drove a pre-production model for a very brief hour and a half I was more perplexed than anything. I chalked it up to pre-production programming issues and the fact that the transmission has 50% more speeds than a 6-speed, so I expected 50% more shifting. A month later I was able to sample a different Cherokee with newer software and some of my shifting complaints had been solved but something still felt “wrong.” Now three months later a full production Cherokee landed in my hands and while the shift logic (when and why the transmission would shift up or down) was finally where I thought it should be, the shifts themselves felt different from what I am used to. "

This is from a write up from an analysis of the ZF 9 speed which we have in the TLX.

The transmission has the Plus that it shares its wealth with Consumers Reports two most unreliable cars, Land Rover and Jeep Cherokee. Of course, they have windows and 4 wheels too so I must be way off base and not thinking correctly unlike Stew4HD. There is, of course, the Stop Sale but maybe that is like the Toyota Corolla also.

Acura has Changed. I owned my first in 1987, a Legend L and have had a new one every few years since then including Legend's last year and the first 3 generations of the TL the last one being an S.
In the 80s and 90s a lot more than 65% of the current owners were satisfied with the Acura(per CR). I got Generation 5 because it seemed the best out there in terms of size and It was an Acura. Have 4,000+ miles on the tech and the heated seats don't work and the transmission is funky and I have to go in for the recall other than that no real issues. I got too used to buying an Acura changing the battery, tires, and brakes then selling it years later with no repairs ever needed. Acura has changed.

Stew4HD

^ Hyperbole Do the Land Rover and Jeep Cherokee have issues only with the transmission or is the rest of the vehicle crap and they just happen to use ZF tranny's?

vbx

False analogy. All cars have windows yes, but each windows were molded specifically for that vehicle. For the perfect fit.

Not retrofitted with duct tape and glue to make it fit.

jeremyw

I have a 2.4 TLX with 8-speed DCT and I have the same problem at low speeds: the slower I go and harder the transmission shifts. If I stop aggressively, the symptom goes away.

Stew4HD

mapleloaf

I thin this is the best summary of the issue, as least in terms of what I have experienced. However, it seems to be less noticeable now, perhaps because I am learning to feather the throttle accordingly, or I am less hyper focused on it (as most of us who post in this forum tend to be). Either way, it's not a big deal given the overall positives of the transmission. I did talk to Acura Canada yesterday and they didn't have anything planned in the short term. I will have my dealer look at it when they do the examination of my transmission for the potential park gear issue.

bbast07

I took delivery of a V6 Advance around 3 weeks ago, and love the car except for 2 issues:
1. The hard shifting described in this thread. I have a little over 1k miles, and 2-3 sometimes will wake you up big time. It's spoiling the "experience" of an otherwise great car.

2. Little detail - the MID compass (tied supposedly to the NAV), when going west or south is off.

I only write this because I noticed the thread stopped in Nov - wondering if there was a fix?

jeich182

No fix that I'm aware of but the problem was specifically mentioned in one of the One Pack quality videos put out by Acura. It would be nice to have this fixed as even my passengers can feel the difference in that shift although it's not as much of a gripe as my VCM vibration/rumble.

sbillard

How are you observing this? Do you compare it to a magnetic compass? If so, where do you live. Magnetic compasses must be "adjusted" based on the declination of your location. For instance in San Francisco magnetic North is "off" by 14 degrees. I presume the NAV system is showing you true North/South.

crownr0yal

TRUE. And it's just so weird because every shift after that is only detectable by the drop in revs.

bbast07

After a LOT of research, I found that the MID compass if you have NAV is not magnetic, it is fed from the NAV so there has to be a software bug. What's really weird is that N & E are accurate - just S & W are off.

sbillard

Again, how did you compare? East & West would not be off (much) due to the difference between magnetic north and true north, but north & south would, so what you describe sounds like you are comparing a magnetic heading to a "true" heading.

weather

I am sure all of you have seen this article but thought I would post anyway...it appears that the ZF unit is responsible for some issues across various brands and this is not just an Acura issue, which we all knew.

ZF 9-speed Automatic Problems Mount, Chrysler Releases Third Update for Cherokee - News - Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

EE4Life

I believe these are the ZF 9-speed transmission related TSBs for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, as mentioned in the article above and related article.
http://www.hudsonhawk.net/tsb/21-014-13.pdf
http://www.hudsonhawk.net/tsb/21-013-13.pdf

Interesting information on how this tranny learns and adapts over time. German sophistication.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Sounds like they're mixing up the DCT with the ZF with some of those issues - does the ZF have the lunging issue when shifting into 1? I thought that was the DCT???

wlkeel

^^^ I think you're right, they have some things regarding the TLX transmissions mixed up.

jeremyw

Apparently the article did not distinguish between the 9-spd transmission and the 8-spd DCT transmission. However, articles like this will bring more awareness and more pressure on the automakers to fix the problems.

I do have a question here: who makes TLX's 8-spd DCT transmission, Acura or ZF, or together? What about the 9-spd? Thanks.

ITdude

I'm seeing quite a few of these reviews for the ZF9. The common themes I am seeing both in this forum and in the articles:
Untimely Shifting
Lackluster Software Updates
Sport Mode Mitigates Some Issues
Bangs into Third Gear
Most Erratic in City Driving
Most Relaxed During Highway Cruising
Manual Shift Response is Slow


Acura seems committed to the ZF9. I noticed the 2016 MDX is coming out with the 9 speed transmission. I didn't think I would ever want a CVT, but they are proving in the long run to be a good transmission. Let's hope the ZF9 does also.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

The DCT is all in-house Honda/Acura. The 9 speed is built by Zf - not clear if they do anything special/different for the Acura version. I.e., Acura may or may not have a hand in programming the software for the ones installed on the TLX.

Stew4HD

My car is going into the dealership this morning to look at the shifting issue mine has when coming to a stop. I have to stay stopped for a few seconds (sometimes) before the car shifts into first.. if I do a slow roll and go or quick stop and go, the car then jerks and it jumps into 1st gear when I give it gas.

I'll will report back with the findings.

Davinci547Acura

Stew, I thought your TLX was perfect and everyone else was just complaining to hear ourselves complain....now join the crowd. Just for the record, mine is going back to dealership tomorrow for the 4th time in 4 weeks due to slip and slam getting continually worse plus it will also surge and hang up at 3000-3500 rpms during shift change and stay there for about 5 seconds trying to figure out what to do with itself. Just got it out of shop earlier this week after another scary slip into neutral experience last week, I'm tired of unreliability. Also IP continually lighting up like a Christmas tree with multiple error codes. V6 Tech.

Stew4HD

I never once said or claimed my car was perfect, no need to be like that. I haven't had my car that long and haven't had many problems.

I tend to take my car to the people to fix it instead of complaining here when I do have an issue. I don't require empathy

Rocket_man

When you read this Adaptation Procedure it is clear it takes significant time, can vary based on temperature and local road conditions, and requires a minimum of 15 miles if everything goes well. So I'm wondering where and when this is done on all new cars with the 9ZF transmission? I'd expect every new TLX V6 should have a minimum of 20 miles on it if this procedure has been done. Or more likely it just gets done... improperly... during short test drives or after the new owner drives it off the lot. This may have a lot to do with the wide variability of performance from one 9ZF to another.

It's almost like every dealership should have a rolling road to do this procedure properly.

Rocketsfan

I called the dealership the day after I got the letter and they told me I'd been put on a list and there was a "backorder" or "backlog" or something for getting it done. Not sure if that means I'll be called in Feb. 23rd, 2015 or Feb. 23rd, 2016.

BluePlanet

I own the 2015 V6 FWD and am having the same transmission issues as those here (annoyingly harsh upshifts between 1-2 and 2-3). I called my service advisor to schedule a repair and received this voice message:

"Acura is working on a software update that is supposed to fix that [transmission issue], among a few other things on the car. I won't have that software download available until the end of March. Acura plans to send out a notice to owners of all affected vehicles."

So while some of you have had luck getting a repair, it appears that a more robust fix is on its way. Apart from that issue (not trivial), the car has been great.

mani

Ok just took delivery yesterday ... with 8 miles on the clock.... yes I'm having the same issue but more noticeable when slowing down specially when you slow down to make a right turn on an intersection.... Will be reporting to the dealer on Monday.

Rocket_man

This was posted over on V-Tec.....

The Temple of VTEC - Honda and Acura Enthusiasts Online Forums > 2016 Acura MDX receives several powertrain upgrades > > Re: Oh, Oh! 9AT and Acura watch

"FWIW I just drove a 2016 MDX. The TLX V6 I am driving now has 4500 miles on it. I would never guess the transmission is the same. Everything I don't like about the 9AT in the TLX doesn't happen in a '16 MDX. No hard shifts or hunting or delayed upshifts. FYI-the IDS is still comfort/Normal/Sport. No Sport+. Also, the heated seats appear to link to the climate control in all trim levels now (I drove a base AWD). As long as we don't see failure rates increase this is a net positive. I also suspect that the EPA testing method is not particularly kind to the 9 speed and that real world MPG will not suffer."

So maybe this pending software update will fix a lot of things. Remember when the car was delayed while they tweaked some things on it. I guess they just didn't have time to completely dial in the transmission.

nhester

I’m also noticing annoying behavior of the transmission (in my case, TLX V6-Tech; 4 months; ~2200 miles). Transmission problems (9AT) seem to be cropping up in disparate comments spread throughout Acurazine.

My TLX is on the “parking brake recall” list, but it appears the issues aren’t confined to just the parking brake! (I’ve never experienced a problem with “P” because I alway engage the emergency brake when parked!)

Here are just 2 of the annoyances I’m noticing that can be easily described and are reproducible:

(1) When proceeding slowly from parking garage, foot lightly on brake, I frequently experience a sudden acceleration when mildly letting up just a tad on the brake pedal! No foot on accelerator pedal.

(2) When coming to a stop (no matter how gently), I often experience momentary surges. When full stop is achieved, it is frequently associated by a last-minute attempt to lunge forward (slap on my back)!

There are other disconcerting lunges at various times while on the road, but the two (above) are the events that can be readily duplicated.

Quandry

Same model here but have not had annoyances #1 or #2. Just for the record you should indicate if this happens in all IDS modes, or if worse in one than the others.

The "parking break recall" is precautionary. When exiting the parking garage, assuming a grade, put the the car in park to see if it rolls back or forward. If no roll chances are 99.9% that it will pass the recall inspection.

bbast07

FYI - I sent an email to the service mgr at my dealer last Friday late to let him know that I was still very unhappy with the 2-3 shift on my car.

I saw BluePlanet's post right after I hit send.

The mgr got back to me this morning, and confirmed that there is a software upgrade coming, and that they were keeping a list of customers with complaints, and that they would contact the customers on the list when the upgrade is available.

c2rsx

I had the software update done for the 9AT over at john eagle in houston while getting the transmission recall looked at. It seems to have resolved the hard shifting between 2-3. I never really had an issue with 1-2. Seems to have really smoothed out the shifting from a dead stop.